CHAPTER XI 



BIRDS ABOUT TOWNS 



WHEN I was a boy I used to wonder a great 

 deal as to what were the commonest birds to 

 be seen in different countries what corre- 

 sponded, in fact, to the sparrows at home ; 

 and I found it was very hard to get at this 

 from books, which told one a great deal about 

 the strange and wonderful birds of the various 

 countries, but did not give one much idea of 

 the everyday kinds. It is easier to get this 

 sort of information nowadays, but even yet 

 the common street birds of the world are often 

 very much neglected, for naturalists do not 

 think them worth notice, and forget that there 

 must be something very interesting about 

 birds which have the wits to pick up a living 

 and look after themselves amongst our houses 

 and streets. 



Of course the common house-sparrow is the 



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